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Unveiling the Efficacy of Sesquiterpenes from Marine Sponge <i>Dactylospongia elegans</i> in Inhibiting Dihydrofolate Reductase Using Docking and Molecular Dynamic Studies
oleh: Abdelsattar M. Omar, Khadijah A. Mohammad, Ikhlas A. Sindi, Gamal A. Mohamed, Sabrin R. M. Ibrahim
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-01-01 |
Deskripsi
Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a crucial enzyme that maintains the levels of 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (THF) required for the biological synthesis of the building blocks of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Over-activation of DHFR results in the progression of multiple pathological conditions such as cancer, bacterial infection, and inflammation. Therefore, DHFR inhibition plays a major role in treating these illnesses. Sesquiterpenes of various types are prime metabolites derived from the marine sponge <i>Dactylospongia elegans</i> and have demonstrated antitumor, anti-inflammation, and antibacterial capacities. Here, we investigated the in silico potential inhibitory effects of 87 <i>D. elegans</i> metabolites on DHFR and predicted their ADMET properties. Compounds were prepared computationally for molecular docking into the selected crystal structure of DHFR (PDB: 1KMV). The docking scores of metabolites <b>34</b>, <b>28</b>, and <b>44</b> were the highest among this series (gscore values of −12.431, −11.502, and −10.62 kcal/mol, respectively), even above the co-crystallized inhibitor SRI-9662 score (−10.432 kcal/mol). The binding affinity and protein stability of these top three scored compounds were further estimated using molecular dynamic simulation. Compounds <b>34</b>, <b>28</b>, and <b>44</b> revealed high binding affinity to the enzyme and could be possible leads for DHFR inhibitors; however, further in vitro and in vivo investigations are required to validate their potential.